Because he was more intrigued by Sloan Presley than he could have ever imagined.

  Chapter 4

  It had been close.

  No, they had been close, Sloan amended to herself as she got into her car to drive over to Colton Properties, just as she’d corrected herself all morning.

  They.

  With their heads bent together in her living room, Chase’s compelling green gaze had drawn her to him like a lodestone.

  He’d been the quintessential gentleman, checking on her, asking how she was settling in and talking with her about his visit with his cousin.

  She’d felt...connected.

  And he’d complimented her with one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her, she thought as she turned onto the main road that would take her into downtown Owl Creek.

  While she was deeply appreciative of her own gifts as a human being—and valued what others brought to bear as well—her intelligence had often alienated people. Never intentionally, but the distance had been there all the same, especially when it came to dating and discussing her career with the men she was seeing.

  It was never overtly mentioned, but any enthusiasm she brought to discussing her work was typically met with polite smiles and blank stares. So she’d learned to push it down and suppress it, recognizing that what interested her and drove her wasn’t get-to-know-you date conversation.

  Yet with Chase, she not only didn’t have to do that, but he also seemed to celebrate her professional accomplishments.

  Not that they were dating.

  Sloan shook off that thought.

  Firmly.

  They were fake dating and that was an entirely different matter.

  Those confused yet utterly pleasing thoughts had rattled through Sloan’s mind all morning, as she ran around the small reservoir in the center of her apartment complex.

  They had vexed her as she’d come back and fed Waffles and made herself coffee and oatmeal.

  And they’d haunted her as she’d showered and gotten ready, slipping into business attire for her trip to Colton Properties.

  She was not a woman who got rattled, vexed or haunted, so it was all a novel experience.

  “Just a little fanciful moment, that’s all. And why not, with the change in time zones and living space and the job to be done?” she asked herself as she checked her reflection in the rear view mirror and used the moment as an abstract sort of pep talk. “Your body clock is upside down and this job is important to you. That’s all it was.”

  Satisfied she’d finally explained it away, she grabbed her work bag, got out and locked her car, and headed for the building that housed Colton Properties.

  In spite of the ruse they’d concocted to have their “meet cute,” Sloan had legitimately been running late to the meeting because of Waffles’s unceremonious delivery of his breakfast back to her. So she gave herself a few more moments this morning to catch her breath, all while taking in her surroundings.

  Owl Creek really was beautiful. She’d never been to Idaho before this job and while she knew the weather would turn cold before long, September had a lot going for it. The morning breeze was fresh, and the sky was a vivid blue that made Sloan think of endless possibilities.

  She’d been intrigued by this job. Although Colton Properties was smaller in scale and scope than the clients she usually took on, the business had real promise. And the change of pace from her usual workload was a plus. She’d recently worked a string of government contracts that, to borrow a description she’d used the night before, had been soul-sucking.

  There had been several money-laundering jobs, drug trafficking and, most recently, a human-trafficking case that still managed to give her nightmares.

  The opportunity to get out of Chicago for a few weeks and do some work that was decidedly less fraught with human suffering had been appealing when she’d gotten Chase’s outreach email.

  It had been humbling to realize that even with the more streamlined, business-focused work, there was still a fair amount of suffering. The Colton family was going through a real trial, and she was oddly glad she was here.

  She might not be able to change Chase’s personal situation for the better, but she could solve his business problem for him. And somewhere down deep she felt that the work mattered extra, somehow, because of it.

  “There really is something to be said for all that clean mountain air.”

  She whirled at the voice, only to come face-to-face with Chase.

  Had she conjured him up?

  Quickly regrouping, Sloan fought for something to say, even as she could still feel his liquid gaze from the night before and those intense moments of closeness they’d shared.

  “I haven’t seen any mountains.”

  “Owl Creek is less mountainous than other parts of the state, but overall we can rock the fresh mountain air with the best of them. There are over three thousand mountains in Idaho, with the highest being Borah Peak at over twelve thousand feet.”

  “Wow.” She considered what she’d read before coming. “The northern Rockies come through Idaho, yes?”

  “Yep, on their northward climb to Canada. Which means we’ve got great ski weather in the winter and fantastic trails in the summer.” Chase grinned, the look boyish and appealing in the bright morning sun. “And I sound like a walking advertisement for the tourist board.”

  “You sound like a man who knows where he lives and knows how to sell it.”

  He shrugged before gesturing her forward. “I’ll take it.”

  They walked across the parking lot toward the building, and she scrambled for something to say. “I’m a little early but I wanted to get started.”

  Chase pulled the door open for her, his gaze appreciative. “I’d say you’re right on time.”

  It was only a reference to her arrival, yet as she stared up at him before crossing the threshold, Sloan couldn’t help feeling his words meant so much more.

  Why did this all feel so right?

  While that inward sense would radiate out to others and help keep their dating ruse intact, she knew well enough to realize these thoughts were dangerous.

  This was a job.

  There wasn’t room for it to feel right or wrong—she just had to do the work she was being paid for.

  With that sobering thought, she moved through the lobby and headed for the elevators that led to Chase’s floor.

  If he sensed her lack of equilibrium this morning, he didn’t mention it, instead following her and holding the elevator doors as she stepped in. After the doors swooshed closed and they were ensconced in a small moment of privacy, he finally spoke.

  “I can set you up in my office and give you the access you need into the systems. I think you should work off of my extra laptop so it looks like you’re doing your own work, but you can access files through my log-in.”

  “You don’t mind? That’s still your personal workstation.”

  He shrugged but the ease that had carried him into the building had vanished.

  “I don’t have anything to hide. And I’m committed to finding the person who does.”

  “That will make it a bit easier for me to get in, especially initially. I can clone your access points and transfer over to my machine without IT being any wiser if you’re okay with that, too?” Despite his complete lack of response to that offer, Sloan rushed on. “I can show you exactly what I’ve done and then show you how I’m removing it from my workstation when we close this job.”

  “I trust your work, Sloan. You’ve been clear about the skills you bring to this and I need your services. Do what you need to do.”

  And there it was again.

  That endorsement of her and her work that held nothing back. No conditions and no excuses.

  And maybe even better, that saw those parts of her as something to be trusted.

  * * *

  Chase couldn’t explain it to himself, but something about Sloan Presley made him feel calm.

  Centered.

  And interested, despite all his better judgments.

  Even as all that interest kept his senses heightened and his awareness of her became something he hadn’t experienced in...well, ever.

  He’d loved Leanne, that hadn’t been a sham. They’d dated and when they’d connected quickly, he’d continued to press the relationship forward, carrying them along toward forever.

  Had things been perfect?

  No, but things had been good.

  And he’d assumed that it would be enough to see them through forever.

  It had crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. But whenever he thought back to their origins, Chase had always carried that clear personal admission that he’d progressed their relationship so quickly toward marriage because it had felt like it was time.

  Like the big clock in his head that told him he was meant to grow up, be successful in business and start a family like his father, was ticking away.

  Or counting down, more like.

  So he’d found Leanne. She was an attractive companion, able to fit into any situation, be it social or business. She was full of sparkling conversation and pretty smiles, and he’d felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing she’d fit the bill.

  One that lived entirely in his head and was of his own making.

  Whatever resentment he’d carried for her and her actions since the dissolution of his marriage, the one area he took full blame for was that unchanging truth: he’d searched for a wife that fit a set of criteria, not someone whom he loved simply for who she was.

  It was part of why he’d sworn off marriage so completely.

  He’d made his personal life a business transaction and he simply couldn’t be trusted to chart a path forward with someone else. Colton Properties was too important to him, and, in the end, he’d accepted that about himself just as he’d accepted his role in the failure of their marriage.

  Despite the scars he carried from his divorce, he had moved on. He didn’t think about Leanne every day, or frankly, even most weeks. She’d even called him a few years back to tell him she was remarrying and that she was happy, and he’d been happy for her.

  No lingering remorse or anger. Just acceptance.

  So why had she occupied his thoughts so heavily these past few weeks?

  Even as he asked himself the question, Chase knew the truth.

  It was the woman he was currently ushering into his office.

  Sloan.

  He followed her through his office entryway before leaving the door open so anyone passing by or stopping in to discuss the day’s business would see she was here with him.

  With her bag stowed at the small meeting table he kept in his office, she crossed over to the individual coffee brewer on his sideboard. After selecting a coffee pod, she settled a mug in the serving tray and started the machine whirring before turning back toward him.

  “You sure I’m not in the way?”

  “Not in the least. Work through what you need in here and when the usual parade comes in this morning for meetings and updates, people will be sure to see you.”

  “It sounds like your day will be busy. I want to strike the right balance between starry-eyed new relationship and not looking like a leech sucking up time in your office.”

  She set a new cup down on the brewer for him before hunting for the container of cream he kept in the small fridge built into the base of the sideboard.

  Chase wasn’t sure why, but something in that small domestic act pulled him up short. He’d have missed it if he hadn’t looked up at just the right moment from logging in to his own computer, but he had looked up.

  Had seen that simple gesture.

  And realized he hadn’t shared coffee with anyone in a long time.

  “Chase?”

  Her soft smile and expectant gaze pulled him out of his reverie.

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  “Do you want cream or sugar?”

  “I can fix it.” He jumped up like a cat who’d been doused in water and crossed over to her. “You don’t have to make my coffee.”

  She shrugged before stepping away from the machine with her mug. “Shouldn’t I know how you like it?”

  “Technically, we just met yesterday. You’d probably get a pass on how I drink my coffee.”

  “Fair.” She appeared to consider for a moment, tapping the side of her mug. “We are going to have to figure out what conversations we would realistically have at what stage of things. To your point, coffee would be new, but would I know how many siblings you have? Or what’s currently going on with your family?”

  If the switch to business had something sour settling in his stomach, Chase ignored it as he lifted his mug and pasted on a smile. “Black with two sugars.”

  “Noted.”

  “But the situation with my family isn’t a secret. You could just as easily hear it from me as anyone in this office.”

  His tone—the one he’d determined would sound as cheerful as possible—instead sounded like he’d been chewing nails with his coffee.

  “I’m sorry. I keep bumbling over the same difficult ground.” She moved closer and laid a hand on his forearm. “I do recognize this is a trying time.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “No, but I could be a little more delicate. We’re investigating your business. I need to leave your family situation off the table.”

  “It’s hardly off the table, Sloan. Nor is it something that people are whispering about.” He thought back to the conference-room discussion the day before. “People are talking about it with bullhorns in hand to amplify the message.”

  He saw the unmistakable sympathy in her eyes and something about that stuck in his gut.

  Hard.

  “I don’t need you to tiptoe here. Do what you need to do. That’s why I hired you.”

  Although he’d stand by every word he’d just spoken as truth, his tone was harsh. Unyielding. It bordered on obnoxious-bastard territory.

  “Got it.”

  “Sloan, I—”

  He was stopped by the arrival of Clint Roebuck and the lead of retail properties, Jamie Hunt. “Colton. Do you have a minute?”

  Sloan glanced over at the two men, a beaming smile firmly in place. “You gentlemen discuss what you need to. I’m just going to get caught up on some email over there.”

  If the men were surprised to see her there, they hid it well, save for Clint’s glance toward the small table where Sloan busied herself settling in, popping in earbuds before facing her computer.

  “If now’s a bad time, we can come back.”

  “Not at all.” Chase pasted on a grin of his own, gesturing toward the coffee maker. “Help yourself and let’s get down to what’s going on. I’m betting you’re here over the Lake Road property.”

  “It’s a mess, Chase,” Jamie began, waving off the coffee. “We’ve had a deal for some time, but the owner is balking now. Says he doesn’t want a retail center marring the pristine lake environment.”

  Chase wanted to kick them both out and apologize to Sloan, but he had a part to play.

  They both did.

  And they’d all been working on the Lake Road deal for months now. It had been one of the last deals his father had initiated before his stroke.

  Business as usual, Colton.

  It’s what he had to do.

  More, what he had to focus on.

  His thoughts had been full of fake dates, corporate espionage and all the damn problems that seemed to define his life right now.

  Yet as he’d so eloquently told Sloan, that’s why he’d hired her.

  Chase Colton didn’t do relationships. He’d learned that a long time ago.

  But business deals?

  Those he could see through in his sleep.

  * * *

  Sloan hunted through files, downloaded what looked important and ultimately mapped herself a digital back door into Colton Properties. Chase had given her extraordinary access to his company and while she was grateful for his trust that she’d do her job, she had to admit the man had—literally—handed her the keys to his kingdom.

  From files on property deals, to business expansion plans and audit histories, there wasn’t much she couldn’t learn about the company. And even though she still smarted from their coffee conversation—she was hired help, after all—she couldn’t deny her fascination all the same.

  Do what you need to do. That’s why I hired you.

  Over and over, that specific part of their conversation had looped through her mind. And because those words had stuck, Sloan once again reminded herself of the plain truth.

  She was here to do a job.

  One she’d been hired for.

  That didn’t mean she was “hired help” in a derogatory way.

  Yet even with the admonitions to herself, the discussion stuck.

  Because nothing about this job had helped her maintain the professional distance she was known for.

  Was it the fake-dating situation?

  While she’d like to blame it on that—and the odd, swirling feelings for Chase she couldn’t quite blunt or blot away—she knew it was something more.

  Something about what the Colton family was going through pulled at her. It had flipped a switch she hadn’t even realized she possessed.

  And yeah...there was that incendiary chemistry, no matter how much she wanted to avoid it all with her inward commentary on how this was a job.

  But it was also the family.

  She knew who her parents were. Her extended family, too. And while she’d never dare to think that she was privy to every thought any of them ever had, she was quite confident that her father and mother were who they’d shown her to be. After a lifetime of knowing them, she knew the good and bad about them, their charms and their quirks.